El Naranjo

It’s the little things (and the big things) that make a difference at chef Iliana de la Vega’s mature escape from the Rainey Street frivolity. When the rolls come, a trio comes with them that includes salsa macha, a nutty and viscous salsa made with seven dried chilies. You won’t find that many places. Also on board, escabeche and orange-flecked butter, which goes surprisingly well with the salsa. It is the kind of accompaniment you’d expect at a restaurant in Oaxaca, where de la Vega ran her own restaurant for more than a dozen years before moving to Austin.

The chef explores the wonders of mole with the deep chocolate and toasted notes of mole negro, with its more than two dozen ingredients, and will likely introduce you to something new, maybe a light, herbal green mole that swathes meaty salmon and beans, all wrapped in hoja santa leaves. The wrapped presentation returns with a Veracruzano dish of shrimp barbacoa glistening with slightly sweet and mild guajillo chili sauce carried in banana leaves. Travel from sea to land with seared tuna al pastor tacos ratcheted up by the fresh serranos in the tomatillo salsa, before gliding your fork through tender short ribs braised in chicken stock and served with a mound of floral poblano rice.

Bonus points to de la Vega for not only bringing great Mexican food to Austin but also taking Austinites to great Mexican food, with regular culinary tours to Oaxaca.